The object of the invention is to automate the services associated with the vending of loose granular productsxe2x80x94such as grains, rice, pasta of relatively small sizes, and particularly coffeexe2x80x94to be dispensed in variable amounts at will, for packaging by the purchaser.
In certain cases, the invention also permits the formation of blends of different products, with proportions variable at will, for example in order to form blends of different varieties of coffee. It is also possible to use the equipment in question to grind the product if it is not wanted in whole-grain form.
All of the above is achieved with practically no need for the costly presence of operating personnel, and with an increase in the speed of all the operations associated with these types of product.
These and other objects and advantages are made clear by the following text.
The invention relates to equipment which essentially comprises, in combination:
a plurality of containers in the form of bins;
a dispenser at the base of each container, to supply the product by allowing it to fall from the corresponding container;
a hopper and/or a set of channels below the container, to collect the product supplied by each dispenser;
at least one housing to support a wrapper capable of receiving, for packaging purposes, the dispensed product or products;
a computerized apparatus for indicating and entering the individual selections and operations to be carried out for the measurement and dispensing of measured quantitiesxe2x80x94individual and/or mixedxe2x80x94into the packaging wrapper;
and a sensor capable of indicating the presence of the packaging wrapper in the housing, and of permitting the discharge.
The equipment can comprise a deflector and at least two housings for packaging wrappers, and a grinder upstream from at least one of said housings; in this case, a selection command can be provided for a request for the product in whole-grain or ground form, this request being made by said computerized apparatus or by a manual operation.
The computerized apparatus can comprise keys for the selection of the product or products to be dispensed; keys for setting the measurement of a product or of a plurality of products; a key for commanding the activation of the measuring dispenser or dispensers and of the discharge, and for the deflector.
Said computerized apparatus can also comprise means for displaying information to be used for the operations to be carried out in sequence.
The computerized apparatus can also comprise display means and indicators for the selection of the degree of grinding to be carried out with the grinder, by manual entry operations or by remote control if necessary.
The equipment in question can also comprise scales for precise weighing and for supplying the corresponding ticket, which is advantageously adhesive.